The CW Robbed Arrowverse Fans of a Perfect Supervillain Team-Up Show
The Arrowverse provided DC fans some additional superhero TV content outside of their main DCEU film franchise – with some fans arguing that the Arrowverse was even superior. But one rejected Arrowverse show might have been the most intriguing.
The Legion of Doom was the antithesis of the Justice League, originally a group of twelve villains gathered together by Lex Luthor to create the greatest team of villains the world has ever seen. Introduced in the Super Friends animated franchise of the 1970s, they eventually made their way to comic book canon.
The Legion were introduced into the Arrowverse in Season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow, featuring Reverse Flash, Damien Darhk, Dark Archer, Captain Cold, Rip Hunter, and Heat Wave. They were defeated by the Legends by the end of the season. Other than a brief mention in The Flash Season 4, DC's most infamous group of supervillains hasn't been heard from again.
As Legends and the rest of the Arrowverse went on, fans kept hoping for a comeback. The Crisis on Infinite Earths provided the opportunity for another version of the group to appear, but it never happened.
One quote from Supergirl's Lex Luthor actor hints that an entire spin-off based on the Legion of Doom could have been in the works.
Jon Cryer, who played Lex in the final few seasons of Supergirl, quote tweeted a clip of the Arrowverse's Justice League in formation on January 27.
His caption said that he had pitched the idea of a Legion of Doom series – but it "wasn't meant to be." This was revealed to be sometime before the announcement of Supergirl's final season – a time when all of DC media was in overhaul.
The Arrowverse had been pretty successful and had created a huge fanbase, but over the last few years, each show started slowly being phased out. The final Arrowverse series – The Flash – will see its finale later this year.
DC is ushering in a new era, likely one that has unified shows and films rather than allowing their properties to compete. Likely, they didn't want to invest in an entirely new show right before the Arrowverse's impending end; a Stargirl spin-off was given the same fate.
That being said, a villain-focused show led by Cryer's Lex Luthor would have been a welcome change of pace for Arrowverse fans. DC has shown their willingness to create villain-led content in other media; Margot Robbie 's performance as Harley Quinn was arguably fans' favorite role of the cinematic franchise.
Whatever happens in DC's future, fans are hoping there's room for the Legion of Doom – hopefully, led by Jon Cryer.